This Week in Dark Money: August 3, 2012

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“The irony is that the more explicitly the ad pushes one particular candidate, the less disclosure is required.”
—Paul Ryan (no relation to the congressman) of the Campaign Legal Center, which helped successfully argue Van Hollen v. FEC. The ruling requires 501(c)(4) groups operating as “social welfare” organizations to disclose the names of donors who contribute money for so-called issue ads. Those ads air within 60 days of a general election and mention candidates without explicitly telling viewers how they should vote. In response, some dark-money groups plan to push the limits of their tax-exempt status even further and dodge Van Hollenwith ads urging viewers to vote for or against candidates.

THE MONEY SHOT

ATTACK AD OF THE WEEK

The dark-money group Secure America Now has released an ad that hammers President Obama’s foreign policy, juxtaposing footage of 9/11 and other terrorist attacks with a woman firing off a litany of claims, which the Center for Public Integrity fact-checked. Among other things, she says Obama has “all but abandoned Israel,” implies that Iran has a nuclear weapon, and suggests that torture led to the discovery of Osama bin Laden. Watch:

With the help of super PACs and dark-money groups, tea party favorite — and conspiracy theorist — Ted Cruz narrowed a 3-to-1 fundraising deficit and defeated Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a Senate primary runoff election Tuesday in Texas. Dewhurst’s campaign raised $33 million ($25 million of which came from the candidate, a wealthy energy investor) to Cruz’s $10.2 million. But outside groups supporting Cruz outspent those backing Dewhurst by $8 million to $6.5 million. The anti-tax super PAC Club for Growth Action spent $5.5 million helping Cruz, the most it’s invested in any race so far this year. Here’s one of the group’s spots:

• Americans for Prosperity, a dark-money group backed by the Koch brothers, says it’s modeling its voter-turnout drive after George Soros’. Bloomberg
• Outside groups are prohibited from coordinating with campaigns, but that didn’t stop Karl Rove from holding an off-the-record fundraising session with a top Romney strategist. CNN
• How many Americans think a super-PAC is a “popular video game for smartphones”?Washington Post

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